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L.A. school district anticipates huge savings with energy upgrades

Aug. 21, 2017

Energy and sustainability firm Schneider Electric has teamed with a California school district to help the district save tens of thousands of dollars annually.

Schneider embarked on a comprehensive energy efficiency project with the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District (NLMUSD) in Los Angeles that’s expected to save the school district nearly $170,000 annually, improve the learning environment for students and advance the district’s mission of providing safe, comfortable schools, according to a press release. The project leverages funding secured through the California Clean Energy Jobs Act (Proposition 39), which allows school districts to tackle critical deferred maintenance projects that result in energy savings.

Over the last decade, NLMUSD has struggled to work with and maintain five disparate building automation systems across its 32 facilities. While one system worked well, the others were completely unreliable, causing a slew of issues for building occupants and the district’s maintenance staff, the release said. When Proposition 39 funding became available, officials with the district knew they wanted to spend the funding on alleviating its building automation system issues.

Schneider Electric worked with the district to install and integrate new building automation systems at seven priority sites and install new exterior LED lighting at the district’s three comprehensive high schools, improving campus energy efficiency and safety.

“We are committed to providing a safe and comfortable learning environment for our students,” said Hasmik Danielian, superintendent of Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District. “By partnering with an energy expert who took the time to understand our needs and has deep experience with Proposition 39 projects, we were able to make our wish list of improvements a reality.”

Most construction was completed during the summer months to minimize the impact on students, faculty and staff. The remaining work will be complete by December 2017.

“Our students and staff are going to benefit greatly from the numerous improvements to our classrooms and facilities,” said Sean Reagan, Board President, Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District. “The project will also help us reduce our environmental impact.”

In addition to annual energy savings, the project will have a positive environmental impact, removing 520 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere, which is equivalent to taking 112 passenger vehicles off the road or powering 67 homes for one year.

Schneider Electric has developed highly successful energy efficiency projects for many school districts across California, securing more than $65 million in Proposition 39 funding and generating more than $4.4 million in annual energy savings.

THESE COMPANIES GENEROUSLY SUPPORT THE PGB MISSION; PROVIDE ABUNDANT, NO-COST, AND OBJECTIVE INFORMATION CONCERNING THE STRATEGIES, SYSTEMS, AND PRODUCTS OF HIGH PERFORMANCE COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS AND MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENCES